Compare Sensor Sizes

Looking to balance the trade-offs between easy of travel, great video, great for low-light and price. For travel – a mirrorless camera seems to be the way to go. And in the mirrorless category, Sony seems to be dominating. The Sony a6000 is universally reviewed as an amazing value for it’s $700-$900 sticker price. It also comes with an on-board flash which some of the full-frame mirrorless do not. With an extra battery or two for around $25, and a f1.8 lens 35mm lens for about $450 – you’re still not spending that much. Or if you skip the kit lenses – the camera is only $550 (but it doesn’t seem worth it because the kit lens is a great value in the pacakage). So $1,150 to get the low light performance.

In terms of video – one defining issue is sound. With the a6000 you need to get a hot shoe adapter.

The tempting upgrades: The Sony a7. If you’re thinking of spending $1200 on the a6000, why not go to $1600 and get the a7? The pros: full-frame with better audio input and a higher resolution view finder. The cons: The a7 is slightly larger, has only half the fps – 5 versus 11 with the a6000, and no built-in flash. The a7 will undoubtedly take better low light photos (even with the kit lens), but better enough?

Or perhaps one of the other new alpha series: It’s hard to get a feel for all of Sony’s newest additions to its Alpha series by looking at their website. The easiest method may be to check out the side-by-side comparison on DPReview . They all seem to have XLR audio support via microphone jack adapters. And they are all full-frame mirrorless cameras. They are all slightly larger than the a6000.

The Sony a7S – $3k (with lens) can almost see in the dark with an ISO at over 400k.
The Sony a7R – $2k (no lens) is amazing for very high resolution photos.
The Sony a7 – $1,600 (with lens) has better autofocus than the 7R or 7S.
The Sony a7 II – $2k (with lens) it’s the upgrade to the a7.

Sony Lenses for the a6000

SEL35F18 – f1.8 35mm
$450 at Amazon

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